BMW 5 Series vs Chevrolet Bolt EV

Both cars' complete complaint records, side by side.

Read the totals carefully. NHTSA publishes no sales figures, so the car that sold more collects more complaints regardless of quality. The rows worth weighing are the proportions — the share of complaints that involved harm, and which part dominates.

Measure	BMW 5 Series	Chevrolet Bolt EV
Complaints on file	556	1,361
Model years covered	1989–2012	2017–2027
Worst model year	2006	2017
Best model year	2003	2022
Crashes reported	26	60
Fires reported	25	31
Injuries reported	22	18
Deaths reported	1	0
Most complained-about part	Airbags	Electrical System
Share of complaints involving harm	13.3%	8%

BMW 5 Series by year

1 6 1 2 3 4 10 13 89 26 125 22 131 6 9 96 12

89 95 97 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Airbags 96 17.3%

Engine & Cooling 67 12.1%

Electrical System 62 11.2%

Fuel & Propulsion 57 10.3%

Tires 43 7.7%

Transmission & Drivetrain 41 7.4%

Steering 32 5.8%

Brakes 22 4.0%

Chevrolet Bolt EV by year

465 119 241 246 96 94 95 5

17 18 19 20 21 22 23 27

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Electrical System 405 29.8%

Steering 254 18.7%

Fuel & Propulsion 190 14.0%

Other & Unspecified 110 8.1%

Transmission & Drivetrain 86 6.3%

Brakes 52 3.8%

Driver Assist & Collision Avoidance 50 3.7%

Engine & Cooling 45 3.3%